Oregon acrobatics and tumbling’s season came to a bittersweet end this weekend in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The No. 4 seeded Ducks were unable to best No. 1 seed Baylor on Saturday, losing the semifinal meet to their long-time rivals 281.410-277.725. The Bears went on to win their fourth straight national championship — the previous three national championship meets featured Oregon and Baylor.

Fortunately for Oregon, the team qualified for 14 0f 15 individual event finals on Sunday. Oregon was much more successful there, picking up event titles for six events.

Saturday’s meet was a hard-fought battle. The Ducks started off strong, eking out a 38.70-38.575 win in the compulsory event. Baylor bounced back in the Acro event with a 29.550-29.15 victory to grab the overall lead.

Oregon went on to win the Pyramid event 29.70-29.65, and followed that up with a narrow 29.325-29.275 get in the Toss event.

Baylor won the Tumbling event 58.250-56.575 to open up their largest lead of the night going into the Team event.

While the Ducks could have made up the less than two-point deficit, those hopes were dashed when Caroline Matos fell, landing awkwardly. The junior had to be carried off by trainers, but the Ducks didn’t have much time to collect themselves before finishing the event.

Ultimately, the Bears took the team event 96.110-94.300 to seal their victory and eliminate the Ducks.

Despite the loss, Ducks head coach Keenyn Won said that she was still proud of her team, and described their recovery from the Matos injury as something she’d never experienced before in her career.

Perhaps some of that momentum and fire carried over to Sunday, where the Ducks turned in six title-worthy performances.

The team’s first win of the night came in the five element acro heat, followed by a victory in the synchronized pyramid heat – just the program’s second of all time.

The Ducks continued their run, grabbing their fourth win in as many years in the 450 salto toss. They also picked up the win in the synchronized toss.

After Baylor won the first four heats of the tumbling event, Oregon bounced back to snatch the title in the six-element tumbling heat. Taylor Galvin, a senior, concluded her career with a perfect 10 in the open tumbling pass – her fourth in a row.

Galvin also picked up an All-American award for the third consecutive year, while Casi Jackson also received the award.

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Oregon baseball concluded the 2018 Civil War series with a 12-5 loss to the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday night. Kolby Somers took the loss for the Ducks, while Grant Gambrell picked up the win for the Beavers.

The Ducks (19-18, 7-12 Pac-12) have now lost their last seven games against their in-state rivals.

Oregon State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when Trevor Larnach went yard with two runners on in the first inning. Michael Gretler joined in with a two-run shot of his own in the third to extend the Beavers’ lead.

Steven Kwan added an RBI single later that inning, while Adley Rutschman put his team up 9-0 when he drove in three more runs with a double.

Ray Soderman got the Ducks on the board in the fourth with a ground-out that scored Gabe Matthews. Oregon went on to score four more runs in the game, but the Beavers added three more of their own.

The Ducks will look to bounce back when they face Portland on the road on April 25th.

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The 2018 season has been a mixed bag for Oregon baseball so far.

Currently sitting at seventh in the Pac-12, the Ducks (19-15-0, 6-9) are in a worse position than they were at this point last season. That team held a 23-12-0 record, though they also were 6-8 in conference play.  

The Ducks have looked superb at times, including a 10-1 domination of then No. 3-ranked Stanford on the road. Other games have seen them utterly outmatched, including an 18-4 defeat at the hands of unranked Arizona State in Tempe.

Oregon hopes it’ll be the former variation that shows up this weekend when the Ducks travel to Corvallis for this year’s installment of the Civil War against the No. 10 Oregon State Beavers.

The Beavers (26-6-0, 7-5 Pac-12) swept the Ducks last season and are having another strong year overall. However, they’ve struggled more against their conference foes, and as a result, sit at fourth in the standings despite holding the second-best overall record.

The driving factor in the Beavers’ success is their batting. They have seven players batting over .300 and the team’s average sits at .305, ranked 14th in the country. Combine that with 29 home runs on a .493 slugging percentage (also 14th nationally), and you have the makings of an offensive powerhouse.

By comparison, the Ducks’ hold a team average of .253, with just two players batting over .300. Their power hitting also lags behind Oregon State’s, to the tune of 17 home runs and .350 slugging.

While the Beavers clearly hold the edge in the batter’s box, pitching may prove to be an equalizer in this series. Despite the difference in records, the Ducks’ boast a better ERA than their counterparts, coming in at 3.61 to the Beavers’ 3.76.

Most notably, both team’s starting rotations have been less than stellar, with ERAs of 5.40 for the Ducks and 4.85 for the Beavers. Due to Oregon State’s dominance at the plate, however, they’ve been able to rely on their hitting to carry the day. As noted above, the Ducks don’t have that luxury.

That said, they’ve scored more than five runs on 15 occasions, so it wouldn’t come as a shock for Oregon to have a big night against an on-and-off group of pitchers.  

If the Ducks hope to win, Kyle Kasser and Jakob Goldfarb will need to have big nights. The two account for the team’s most consistent hitting, and Goldfarb leads all batters with five home runs. More often than not, the team goes as they go.

By comparison, Oregon’s pitching staff has a dugout full of strong hitters to contend with. Matt Mercer and Kenyon Yovan have performed well in starting roles, though the rotation thins after them.

While the odds favor the Beavers this weekend, don’t count the Ducks out. With 21 games left in the season, Oregon still has ample time left to make a run. Ripping off a series against a rival could be the spark this team needs. That potential, combined with a desire to avenge last year’s sweep should lead to a fired-up performance from the Ducks.

The series runs Thursday to Saturday and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. Game one on Thursday is at 6 p.m. while the other two begin at 4 p.m.

Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95 

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Going into Sunday’s meet against the Baylor Bears, the women of Oregon acrobatics and tumbling knew that they needed to deliver a flawless performance to best their rivals on senior night. For most of the meet, it looked like they might do it.

Despite a stellar showing throughout the first five events, a pair of costly mistakes in the team event knocked the Ducks’ score down enough for the Bears to pull out a 286.750-284.285 win. With the loss, Oregon concludes its regular season with a 4-3 record.

“We were tenths ahead of them and we knew this meet was going to come down to tenths,” Ducks head coach Keenyn Won said. “We knew we had to go out there and execute our team event. Baylor definitely had some mistakes in theirs, but we just had bigger mistakes.”

Despite the loss, the Ducks’ score of 100.160 in the team event was the team’s best mark of the season, and the first time Oregon cracked triple digits. Won said that the event cost the Ducks the meet, and the scores bear that out: a fall is an automatic 1.5 point deduction, and both of Oregon’s mistakes were falls. Without them, the Ducks would’ve taken home a victory.

Even though she was disappointed, Won noted that she’d prefer to have the team’s errors come down to pair of big ones rather than a bevy of minor slip-ups.

The Bears kicked things off with a 38.85-38.70 win in the compulsory event, and followed that up with a win in the acro event.

In the pyramid event, the Ducks hit their stride, winning the event 29.80-29.20. To cap things off, the team earned a perfect 10.0 in heat three to head into the intermission with a 97.95-97.85 lead.

Oregon continued where it left off after the break, coming back out to win the toss event 29.70-29.55. They continued on to take the tumbling event 56.475-56.35.

“Tonight, I feel like we really did execute in events 1-5,” Won said. “That’s something we’ve really been working on in the last month, to focus on an entire meet.”

Ducks seniors and their families are honored at the end of this season’s last home meet, including the family of Lauren Jones, an Acrobatics and Tumbling athlete who passed away in 2015. Many of her teammates wear her number 51 while performing at meets. Her initials are embroidered into their jerseys. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The loss came during what was already destined to be an emotional night for the Ducks as the team said goodbye to seniors Alexis Cross, Reagan Trussell, Taylor Galvin, Sabrina Peyton, Annelyse Robinson, Kendall Greene, Maddy Hite, Cheyenne Holliday, Kaylee Nicklos and Ali Garwood.

There was one member of the class who wasn’t on the mat with her teammates, however.

The last senior to be honored was Lauren Jones, who died of meningitis in 2015. Her family traveled from Georgia to accept her jersey while the previously loud arena honored her with a moment of silence. The Ducks also wore black #51 patches, recalling her number.

“Lauren Jones and the experience that this class went through with her passing has truly molded and shaped who they are,” Won said. “That’s something that they talk about all the time, that she’s looking over them and that they’re gonna do it for her. Obviously tonight didn’t go in our favor, but we still have more of our season that we can dedicate to Lauren.”

The Ducks will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania, for the NCATA Championships starting April 26.

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Oregon baseball bounced back from a pair of losses to Stanford with a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Dons on Monday. Cullen Kafka picked up the win for the Ducks – his third of the season – while Daniel Slominski took the loss for the Dons.

The win marks the conclusion of a trip to the Bay Area that was a mixed bag for Oregon. The team dominated Stanford in one game, only to lose the next two. The Ducks now sit at 16-11 on the season.

Jonny DeLuca got things going for the Ducks, driving the ball over the right field wall for his first home run of the season. Ray Soderman joined in on the next at-bat with a second homer – this time, over left field. It was also his first of the year.

Soderman went on to add an RBI in the sixth on a single that scored Kenyon Yovan, while Ryne Nelson send DeLuca home on a squeeze-play bunt that same inning. Deluca added the final exclamation point to the win with a sacrifice fly to score Spencer Steer in the seventh.

While Kafka got the win, starter James Acuna delivered a solid performance in his four innings, striking out a career-high five batters.

The Ducks will host the Washington State Cougars for a three-game series at PK Park starting April 6th.

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Oregon acrobatics and tumbling picked up a big win on Monday night, defeating the Hawaii Pacific Sharks 284.660 to 274.225 on the road.

The meet, in which the Ducks swept every event, marked the team’s season-high in points and moved them to 4-2 on the year with one meet left.

The compulsory event was close, with Oregon narrowly taking it 38.70 to 38.65. While the Sharks notched a perfect 10.0 in the toss heat, the Ducks were more balanced overall and never scored below a 9.40 across the event.

The Ducks went on to earn another close win in the acro event, this time by a score of 29.85-29.75. The teams tied in the first two heats, but the Ducks pulled ahead in heat three to grab the win.

They continued that momentum with a win in the pyramid event, earning a season-high 29.85 to HPU’s 29.75. The Ducks notched 9.95s in all three heats.

Oregon followed that up with a 29.80- 28.80 win in the toss event, culminating in a perfect 10 in the third heat.

The tumbling event was still close, but the Ducks began to open the meet up with a 57.650-55.025 victory — another season-high for the team.

The team event was when Oregon blew things open to clinch the meet victory, winning with a 99.26 – also a season-high – to HPU’s 92.80.

The Ducks will conclude the regular season when they face Baylor on Sunday, April 8 in Eugene.

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After dominating Seattle in round one, the Oregon Ducks drummed the Minnesota Golden Gophers out of the NCAA Tournament with a dominant 101-73 win in round two on Sunday night. Oregon advances to the third round and will play either Central Michigan or Ohio State.

Oregon top performers:

Sabrina Ionescu: 29 points, seven rebounds, nine assists

Ruthy Hebard: 22 points, 10 rebounds, one assist

Satou Sabally: 12 points, six rebounds, four assists

Lexi Bando: 11 points, one rebound, two assists

Minnesota top performers:

Carlie Wagner: 20 points, three rebounds

Destiny Pitts: 17 points, two rebound, four assists

Kenisha Bell: 14 points, five rebounds, eight assists

Team Stats

Oregon:

61 percent shooting from the field, 11-of-22 from 3-point range, 12-of-17 from the free throw line

Minnesota:

42 percent shooting from the field, 12-of-28 from 3-point range, 5-of-8 from the free throw line

Key Moments:

– The Ducks owned the paint, outscoring the Gophers 46-18 in that area.

– Ionescu kicked off the third quarter with another and-one, and made her free-throw.

– Eleven players played for the Ducks, while the Gophers played just eight.

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It’s halftime at Matthew Knight Arena in round two of the 2018 Women’s NCAA Tournament, and the Oregon Ducks are leading the Minnesota Golden Gophers 51-36.

Oregon Ducks top performers:

Sabrina Ionescu: 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists

Ruthy Hebard: 12 points, four assists

Satou Sabally: Five points, four rebounds

Lexi Bando: Five points, one rebound, four assists

Minnesota Golden Gophers top performers:

Carlie Wagner: Six points, three rebounds

Destiny Pitts: 14 points, two assists

Kenisha Bell: Six points, five rebounds, three assists

Team Stats

Oregon Ducks:

66 percent shooting from the field, 6-of-13 from 3-point range, 3-of-6 from the free throw line

Minnesota Golden Gophers:

41 percent shooting from the field, 7-of-15 from 3-point range, 1-of-2 from the free throw line

Key Moments:

– With 1.2 seconds left in the first quarter, Ionescu drove for a layup, drew the foul, and made her free throw.

– Midway through the first quarter, Hebard delivered a strong block on Bell, and scored on the other end.

– As time expired in the second quarter, Ionescu hit a contested, deep 3-pointer and was fouled on the play but did not make her free throw.

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As one of the most unpredictable events in sports, pre-game preparation can only do so much to ready players for March Madness.

In Friday’s 88-45 beatdown of Seattle University, the Ducks didn’t just pick up a dominant first round win at home, the team was also able to give its bench players crucial experience in a tournament atmosphere.

Since March Madness comes at the end of the season, the wear and tear teams accumulate over the year can become a huge factor. Oftentimes, whether or not a squad has depth off the bench can make or break a title run.

“[It’s] invaluable,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “That’ll help us later on in this tournament at some point, having them already have had some game experience, and then obviously in the future.”

The most notable presence from the Oregon bench was junior Oti Gildon, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Gildon turned in several big-time performances in last year’s run to the Elite Eight.

“I think my mindset is just to get the job done,” Gildon said. “Whenever I come in I just do the best I can, whether it’s rebounding or defense.”

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Graves pointed to Gildon’s breakout games in last year’s tournament and made it clear that he thinks any number of this team’s bench players are capable of such a performance.

While Gildon may be a postseason veteran, Oregon has several players who, though they play semi-regularly, have little-to-no tournament experience. Sophomore Sierra Campisano saw limited action in last year’s tournament, but made the most of her seven minutes on the floor against Seattle despite a broken finger, with six points (one shy of her season high) and a pair of boards.

Campisano said that she was thrilled to be on the floor, and her teammates clearly shared the sentiment. In one memorable moment, the sophomore drained a fade-away jumper while Sabrina Ionescu went crazy from the sideline.

While Campisano had at least some background, Aina Ayuso and Anneli Maley came into this year with no postseason experience to speak of. If either of them were rattled, it didn’t show. Maley chased loose balls with the same hustle she’s flashed all season, while Ayuso put two Seattle defenders on skates.

“It’s amazing,” Ayuso said. “It was a great environment, and a great experience. I don’t know how to explain it, I just play.”

Maley echoed her teammate’s sentiment, and credited the Ducks’ starters for creating the lead, and in turn opening up the opportunity for players like her to get into the game.

Recalling her first tournament experience, sophomore Ruthy Hebard was glad to see her younger teammates on the floor. 

“They all came in and they all contributed tonight,” Hebard said. “They got to see the vibe, the pace, everything…I think they’ll be ready down the stretch.”

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This time last year, 10-seed Oregon women’s basketball was preparing to play seventh-seeded Temple in Durham, North Carolina.

Fast forward to now, and the circumstances have flipped. On Friday night, the No. 2 seed Ducks will host the 15-seed Seattle Redhawks on their home court at Matthew Knight Arena.

“We’re excited to be here, no doubt about it,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “It’s a huge advantage, but it’s one we worked hard to achieve and earn.”

The hometown crowd has been a boon to the Ducks all season long. Players have frequently remarked that they feed off of the fans’ energy, and their record certainly seems to indicate so. On their way to a 16-1 record at home, the Ducks drew an average crowd of 3,896.

“It’s crazy walking in where we always walk in and having all these people here,” sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu said in Oregon’s pre-tournament press conference on Thursday. “It definitely doesn’t feel real.”

For hometown star Lexi Bando, opening up the tournament in Eugene carries special meaning. The senior played at nearby Willamette High School, and said that the many friends and family members that have reached out to her are thrilled to be able to come support the team.

“It’s incredible,” Bando said. “We have — I think — the best crowd in the Pac-12. They’re excited. We’re excited. We love our home court.”

On paper, the Ducks are heavily favored over the Redhawks. This is March though, and it’s called March Madness for a reason – this Oregon team knows from personal experience.

“I’ve probably mentioned to them 50 times already – seeding does not matter,” Graves said. “We were the ones in the hunt last year, and now we’re the ones being hunted. We have to understand that.”

When it comes to styles of play, the Ducks and Redhawks share some common traits. Seattle’s game centers around its star guard duo of Alexis Montgomery and Kamira Sanders. Both shoot above 40 percent from the field, and above 30 percent from beyond the arc.

Across the board, the 3-ball is one of Seattle’s strengths, with five players shooting at a 30 percent clip from downtown. Forward Jacinta Beckley has been especially good from deep, and has contributed nearly five 3-pointers per game this year.  

Montgomery is also stellar on the boards, and averages 10 rebound per-game. However, post play is one area in particular where Seattle is mismatched with the Ducks. The Redhawks have just two players over six feet tall on their roster. By comparison, Oregon starts Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally – both of whom stand at 6 feet 4 inches.

For her part, Montgomery said that she isn’t preparing to face the Ducks’ post players any differently than normal. Beckley added that boxing out whenever possible is going to be critical.

The Redhawks know that to have a shot against the Ducks, they need to play a virtually mistake-free game.

“We aren’t as big and we aren’t as strong,” Seattle head coach Suzy Barcomb said. “So we have to be fundamentally sound. We have to try getting them out of rhythm.”

The Ducks and Redhawks will face off on Friday at 4:30 in round one of the 2018 Women’s Division I NCAA Tournament.

Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95

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